(Football news) Liverpool lead the way at the summit of the standings thanks to their 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace before the hiatus, while the Blues were stunted in a 1-1 draw versus Nottingham Forest.
Records have been tumbling at the feet of Liverpool head coach Arne Slot since the Dutchman stepped into Jurgen Klopp’s enormous shoes, and the former Feyenoord boss oversaw his eighth win from nine matches in charge at Selhurst Park two weekends ago.
An early Diogo Jota strike was the difference on that occasion, but the result was partially overshadowed by another serious injury to long-serving goalkeeper Alisson Becker, as 23-year-old debutant Vitezslav Jaros saw out the slender victory in between the posts.
While that success ensured that Liverpool would be sitting pretty at the top of the standings for a fortnight, they could be bumped down to second on Saturday if Arsenal overcome Bournemouth, and Manchester City defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers at 2pm on Sunday would demote them to the bronze medal position before kickoff.
Slot and co will not be concerning themselves with such hypotheticals as Liverpool chase a seventh win on the bounce in all tournaments, though, and the Reds’ defensive foundations remain as solid as ever, with just two goals shipped in the current Premier League campaign.
Furthermore, Liverpool’s seven top-flight outings so far this term have seen the Merseyside powerhouses give up a mere 5.2 Expected Goals (xG), but the Reds’ defensive mettle will be tested to the extreme by their goal-happy visitors on Sunday.
After Slot became just the fourth manager in Premier League history to win each of their first four away games in the competition, his opposite number Enzo Maresca can become the fifth member of that exclusive club by halting Liverpool’s momentum this weekend.
The Blues could have been forgiven for asking Nottingham Forest – Liverpool’s only conquerors this season—for tips on how to best Slot’s side a fortnight ago, but their enthralling encounter with the Tricky Trees instead descended into chaos across 105 unmissable minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Chris Wood and Noni Madueke saw the spoils split as Chelsea’s five-game winning run came to an end, but the day no doubt belonged to the men in the gloves, as Robert Sanchez and Matz Sels—the last line of defence for a 10-man Forest side—made a string of wonderful stops to preserve a point for their teams.
Even a win for Chelsea would not have improved their fourth-placed standing in the Premier League table, but the Blues arrive on Merseyside with the second-best attacking record in the division; their 16 goals scored are only inferior to Manchester City’s 17.
The visitors, who also saw Maresca and Cole Palmer complete a Manager and Player of the Month double for September, could now win each of their first four away games of a top-flight season for the first time since 2008-09, but a nine-game winless run versus Liverpool, who have not lost to the Blues since March 2021, does not stand them in good stead.
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